


Romantic Getaway

by Ealasaid, writeyourownstory



Series: Hallmark Channel [10]
Category: 1917 (Movie 2019)
Genre: Hospitality Industry, Hotels, Inspired by Hallmark Movies, M/M, Richfield, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Wedding Planning, chatfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27890020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ealasaid/pseuds/Ealasaid, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeyourownstory/pseuds/writeyourownstory
Summary: Rewrite of the Hallmark movie "Falling for Look Lodge."Benjamin Schofield is abruptly thrust into the orbit of one William Schofield when Ben's sister decides that she is a) getting married at Schofield's hotel and b) she doesn't have the time to plan it on-site, so Ben's going to have to do it for her.  Slow-burn romance ensues!
Relationships: Lieutenant Richards/William Schofield, Tom Blake & William Schofield
Series: Hallmark Channel [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988683
Kudos: 1





	Romantic Getaway

**Author's Note:**

> ~originally brainstormed/chatwritten October 4th, 2020!

**butler is boo:** I am almost to my granny’s and we can get this HALLMARK DAY STARTED

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** AYYYYYYYYYYYY

 **butler is boo:** Omg  
They are so _boring_ today  
But here’s the one on now: “Lily dreams of being a hotel event coordinator and is thrilled when she's given the chance to do so by helping Noah, a hotel guest, finish planning his sister Justine's wedding at a remote lodge.”  
It’s called “Falling for Look Lodge” 🙄  
(Also pretty sure main guy doesn’t want his sister to marry her fiancé, who is a douchebag, so it’ll ruin the main girls opportunity)

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** Alright well  
that _screams_ classic Blakefield but I just don't see either of them being desperate to be a hotel event coordinator

 **butler is boo:** 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** I could see the guy as Richards  
whom I headcanon has four sisters  
but I still can't see anyone dying to be an event coordinator 😂

 **butler is boo:** Hmmmmmm  
Maybe they want to be a coordinator to get a promotion or maybe a better opportunity somewhere else? And this is their ticket?

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** That . . . that could work  
buttttttttttttt  
I could also see it as Richfield

 **butler is boo:** Oh hell yes

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** where Schofield is like the GM or something  
maybe Tom or Joe is the hotel's events coordinator?

 **butler is boo:** Ok yeah, that could work 🤔  
(Oooo also the main guy is a workaholic and is always in his hotel room and his sister is pissed about it now)

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** ohohoho  
yeah, "workaholic"  
he's sampling the minibar because even growing up with four sisters, there's only so much screaming he can take

 **butler is boo:** **👏** 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** Okay I like this  
Richards is unimpressed with his soon-to-be brother-in-law  
BUT he has to help his sister because _family_

 **butler is boo:** 👀  
Oh def yes, no matter how much he doesn’t want to

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** the hotel event coordinator is young and very eager but apparently has a hard time translating Ben's sister's idealistic demands into workable reality, which means that the bland-looking GM gets called in _every time_

 **butler is boo:** _bland looking_ 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** "Tom, I shouldn't be doing your job," the GM tells the 20-something once in Ben's hearing.  
"Yeah, but this is part of learning, right?" Blake looks far too pleased with this defense. "And you're a good friend to do it, too."  
"You are going to owe me _so much."_  
\-- and Benjamin is thinking _we should probably find another hotel_ but Eleanor is dead-set on _this_ charming, picture-perfect place.  
Anyway, Benjamin is stuck in his hotel room a lot, because _top lawyer_ or _not,_ he like, actually _does_ have to work even while he's helping Eleanor set this whole thing up  
(and also, yeah. They have a very nice minibar selection.)  
After one extremely screamy conference call with Eleanor (this Eleanor is not Ellie by the way, he legit has a sister named Eleanor and I have just now named her thusly), in which all of them are roundly denounced as trying to ruin her lovely wedding, Benjamin loses his temper and starts shouting right back at her that if she's expecting perfection, she should at least have the decency to come do this herself instead of expecting Blake (and by extension Schofield) to magically translate her dreams to reality when she's not even here to see what they're doing!

 **butler is boo:** Ooooo yes! **👏** 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** Benjamin is sulking in his room and there's a quiet knock on the door and he's like "oh god, it's one or the other of them -- I bet the hotel is not going to let us stay after that"  
he's already anticipating the fight he's going to have with Eleanor when he opens the door and sees it is definitely Schofield

 **butler is boo:** **😏**

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** but Schofield just very politely hands over like, ten of the whiskey minibar bottles Benjamin always drinks first, and is like "compliments of the house -- and you looked like you needed it"

 **butler is boo:** Ha! Will is a _very_ good GM **😏**

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** Benjamin's like 😳 "oh. Uh, thanks." because . . . . he's a lawyer, he's supposed to have better control than _that_ _._ It's a little embarrassing, really  
anyway  
after this he starts paying closer attention to Schofield and he notices that Schofield is actually very good at flying under the radar . . .  
as in, he's always basically secretly laughing at _everyone._  
Angry guests screaming at him? He smoothly talks them down without turning a hair  
Children running rampant through the lobby? He tricks them into doing small tasks around the hotel by turning it into a competition

 **butler is boo:** **👏** 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** Night clerk having a nervous breakdown after the third time the morning shift is late? On that occasion Benjamin actually gets called in to help -- Schofield makes them all a very nice cup of tea and instead of doing his morning run, Benjamin is shanghaied mid-way through the lobby into letting some random girl sob on his shoulder while Schofield takes over the front desk

 **butler is boo:** Omg  
He’s a secret genius 😂  
At manipulating people I mean 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** ^^^

 **butler is boo:** (I can see the whole staff being utterly loyal to him because they all know this and will fight anyone about it)

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** He's there to be screamed at and make things happen and he's learned over time how to arrange it so that people are screaming at each other and NOT him, if even at all  
oh yes  
  
🤔  
(backstory that probably never comes up -- he's the owner's nephew or something)  
(that's how he got into it)  
anyway, with this new insight into Schofield's character, Benjamin starts noticing all the times when Schofield is, like, inwardly rolling his eyes during the calls or the consults Benjamin is doing with Blake and Schofield or literally anything to do with the wedding. They're all precisely the same places _Benjamin_ is doing it, too.

 **butler is boo:** **😏**  
What _else_ does he notice?

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm  
he notices Schofield's smile  
not the polite public one. The secret one.  
\--and no, Benjamin doesn't mean the really big and sweet one Schofield has sometimes when Blake makes him laugh (Benjamin made him laugh once too, it was surprised and far nicer than Benjamin expected), either.  
It's the _secret_ one, where Schofield's eyes crinkle at the corners and he usually ducks his head or takes a sip of tea or something because it is when he is not supposed to be amused but he _is._  
and once Benjamin notices this sort of smile, he realises Schofield does it _all the time_  
\--or at least he always seems to when Benjamin is around, anyway.

 **butler is boo:** _bless_  
**😏**  
(Ooooooo _twist_ —the sisters fiancé was NOT a douchebag, he and main character just didn’t click at first and he was just nervous about being around his fiancé’s brother)

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** **😏**  
(OOOOOOOO I like that twist)  
Eleanor does come to the hotel, finally. It is dreadful.  
It's a week before the wedding and all the last-minute prep is happening and by God. By _God,_ the _showdown_

 **butler is boo:** Ooooooooo 👀 RICHARDS DRAMA  
Sibling showdown!!

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** Benjamin does his best to try to be around when Blake and Eleanor are meeting, just because he feels guilty about leaving Blake to Eleanor

 **butler is boo:** Ben is running himself ragged just trying to be there for his sister

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** but Benjamin _is still working,_ too, and there are times he can't be around!  
He is neck-deep in some contract briefs trying to catch up on some work he has let pile up when he gets a call from the front desk.

 **butler is boo:** 👀

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** "Benjamin," says Schofield (and he always calls Benjamin 'Mr Richards' so _that_ catches Benjamin's attention), "I know you're working in your room today, but can I send Tom up to you to cool down?"  
Ben covers his face and tries really, really hard to stifle his groan. "What did she do," he asks and he is just resigned at this point.  
"Nothing I can't handle, don't worry about it," Schofield says, very sincerely and reassuringly.  
"Ah," says Benjamin, and accurately deduces that Schofield is about to be plying all his skills on Eleanor.

 **butler is boo:** **👏** 😂  
Will is literally _magic_ when it comes to costumer service

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** ^^^  
so Blake shows up, stewing  
apparently Eleanor was going off about the honeysuckle not blooming as advertised, or some such shite  
(Benjamin doesn't even know what that means, but Blake is _very_ incensed over it)  
like ten minutes in, one of the housekeeping shows up with a six-pack of beer and a pizza that makes Blake brighten, at least

 **butler is boo:** He absolutely thinks Ben’s sister is crazy  
Ooooo a budding Bromance 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** oh, he does! and Benjamin absolutely agrees. But honestly Blake only broods for like another fifteen minutes and then he just completely shrugs it off, seemingly  
gets this determined fervor of "Well, I have to learn how to deal with screaming clients at _some_ point!"  
becomes _downright bloody cheerful_

 **butler is boo:** So basically his default setting 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** YEP  
anyway he gets all cheerful and chatty and leaves after another hour  
ready to go charging in to get some more stuff done. probably meeting the caterers  
or inventorying hotel equipment needed, who even knows  
anyway, Ben gets back to work!  
\--or starts to, anyway  
There's another knock at his door and Ben's vaguely hopeful that it's Schofield, here to tell him what happened, but actually it's Eleanor.  
She's absolutely on Cloud 9, literally gushing about how "no wonder you've been trying so hard, they're so _lovely_ here!" and then starts talking about how absolutely _lovely_ the GM is and how _lovely_ the hotel has been to her and just on and on  
and Benjamin is inwardly just 

and also 

**butler is boo:** (Omfg Will _is_ magic **👏** 😂)

**Lt. Richards is bae:** \--well anyway she leaves after a bit, just beaming  
and Ben's like OKAY NOW I CAN DO SOME WORK  
and he does!  
**😏**  
and he is just wrapping up for the day when there's another knock on the door  
and _this_ time, it is actually Schofield.  
He has got his jacket on. It looks like he is leaving for the day or something (which is odd because it's a bit earlier than usual -- oh, wait, no, it is actually half-past six), and he is casual and low-key when he says "Sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to thank you for letting Tom come by and wind down."  
Benjamin brushes it off with "no no, no, it was fine!"  
Schofield gives him that _yes I will play along with your assertions even though they are wrong_ sort of look and is like "uh-huh. Well I was wondering if I could treat you to a dinner that's not from the hotel restaurant"

 **butler is boo:** **👏🙌😭**

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** Benjamin is genuinely just like _oh my god._  
He has gotten really good at reading Schofield's secret expressions lately, and so even though Schofield has got that 'slightly-more-open-than-baseline-polite' expression on, he has also got this wicked glint in his eye and he is leaning in . . . maybe a bit closer than that expression should be paired with.  
And Ben is not an _idiot._ Benjamin really likes Schofield. Like . . . definitely has admitted that he is interested to himself before, so.   
he replies simply with, "Well, let me just get my coat, then."

 **butler is boo:** Oh _hell_ yes **👏😏**

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** It is a lovely dinner!  
if I had the patience, I'd make up some sort of restaurant and what they order and all that but I'll condense because I don't

 **butler is boo:** 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** They don't talk about the wedding or what happened earlier with Eleanor at all. Instead, they wind up talking about how boring Benjamin's work is when he's going through contract legalese and not interacting with people, which takes them to hospitality law and how that applies to hotels and stuff, and then they get into how they started doing what they're doing ("oh and stop calling me Schofield, just Will is fine" -- "in that case, it's Ben, no need to stoke my ego higher than it already is") and that leads to an argument over whether there should be two English classes every year instead of one in secondary school as part of mandatory schooling (Ben thinks that no, there should be a mandatory _socialising_ period and Will thinks yes, because rhetoric should absolutely be a class), and so on and so forth.  
they literally talk for _hours._ Ben insists on leaving the tip and he leaves a huge one just because they took up the table for so long!  
(assuming this is America I guess)

 **butler is boo:** But they do have a lovely outing and Will totally charms the heck out of Ben  
And vice versa if the blush on wills cheeks is anything to go by

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** oh my god, yes

 **butler is boo:** **😏**

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** he sees Will _grin_  
not even smile, not even secret smiles -- but honest, not-customer-service smiles! Full-on grinning! There's a good deal of laughter at some point!

 **butler is boo:** 🥰

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** But this is a slow burn, baby 

**butler is boo:** _slow burn dictates “not tonight”_ 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** Ben gets a taxi back to the hotel even though Will offers to drive. Ben's like "no you have work tomorrow and it's _very_ late, I've kept you up long enough" and Will gets this sly look and Ben _knows._ He _knows_ Will is absolutely thinking of alllllllllllllllllllll the ways they could be keeping each other up . . .  
but  
that  
would be a bit too fast for them at the moment  
so he just sort of returns the interested look, trades a thoughtful appraisal for a thoughtful appraisal, and says "if you're free tomorrow evening, I'd like to buy you dinner"

 **butler is boo:** **👏😭**

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** "That," Will says after a moment, "would be delightful. Same time?"  
So Ben goes back to his room. Reflecting on it, he realises that goodness, he really does like Will. Like. Benjamin has come to really respect this man over the last few weeks, how he handles everyone around him and manages to subtly rearrange the world so that everyone feels like they're the ones who've won, you know, whatever.  
This dinner has absolutely clinched it for him, because Will's definitely educated and great at conversing, apparently, and also he has a sense of humor. And his smile . . .  
and his HANDS . . .

 **butler is boo:** Those _bloody eyelashes!_

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** that _mouth_ _!  
_🤤  
movie version: fade to black as Ben smiles  
fanfic version: he wanks in great detail to a luscious fantasy of all the things Will could do with those hands and that mouth **😏**  
So OF COURSE the whole next day is excruciating!  
Eleanor is fawning all over Will -- whatever he did means that Eleanor _adores_ him

 **butler is boo:** 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** she's very nice to Blake and demonstrates exceeding cheerfulness  
and also, demands that Benjamin spend loads of time with her as he is her "favorite brother"  
there's wedding shite, no emergencies, a nice lunch with her  
but the entire time Benjamin is acutely aware that, whenever he goes through the lobby, Will is watching him  
mostly because he's watching Will as much as _he_ can  
there's a brief meeting where Blake and Eleanor and Benjamin are talking about something and Blake has to call Will over to answer a question

 **butler is boo:** And Ben's like 

**Lt. Richards is bae:** Will comes on over after breaking off his conversation and joins them and it's all casual.  
. . . but he stands just a hair closer to Benjamin than to Eleanor and there are a few moments where he shifts his weight and actually brushes against Ben and it is _ridiculously thrilling._  
. . . so yeah. That night they don't talk as much as the night previous, but! It's pretty clear they don't want to end the night _yet  
_so Will's like "how about coffee and a movie or something? We can go to my place"

 **butler is boo:** **👏**

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** It's a nice place, he's got his own apartment -- but a nice one, not a terrible one, and everything's fairly neat and this is definitely _his_ place.  
They get halfway through some movie that's vaguely hilariously terrible before they basically stop pretending and start making out.  
As it turns out, Will is a) exceedingly fit and b) just as competent with his hands as Ben fantasized about **😏** 🥰

 **butler is boo:** 🙌😆🙌  
_yessssssssssss_

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** The movie ends with the wedding going off without a hitch. Will isn't anywhere around because it's his night off and anyway, Ben is way too busy trying to keep everything on track.  
Ben is _exhausted._ Ugh, weddings.  
Still, when he gets back to his room at something like 11 pm, he finds a treat: Will has cheerfully abused his GM magic keys and is flipping through channels on the hotel television. He also has Chinese takeout.  
Ben stands in the doorway and very seriously says, "I think I love you."  
Will smiles up at him and says, "Well, have some food and join me, then."  
~ fin ~

 **butler is boo:** 🙌😭🙌  
Oh this one was cuuuuuuuuute!  
The original was such shit—I like this one waaaay better **👏** **👏** **👏**  
As usual **😏** 😂

 **Lt. Richards is bae:** 😂  
ten times gayer, significantly more attractive leads  


**butler is boo:** HALLELUJAH!! 🙌

**Author's Note:**

> I hope my inner reddit lurker isn't showing 🙄😅 ~E
> 
> It is but we don’t judge, love 😘😂 Omg GMack the magic GM gets me every time! 😂 ~W


End file.
